Hills of Hibernia, a Ranger's Apprentice story
by TheRangersApprenticeWriter
Summary: When Royal Rangers Halt and his ex-student Will go missing in the ancient, overseas kingdom of Hibernia, Gilan decides to go after them. He is certain to, with the help of his friend and knight Horace, bring his friends safely back to Araluen. No matter the cost.
1. Chapter I: A Message from Crowley

Gilan had been on his way to Araluen for a few days already. The fief where he was stationed, Norgate, was located pretty far away from the Ranger headquarters, which were located inside castle Araluen itself, the centre of the country. His commander, Crowley, had called for him by ways of a letter. Something about an important mission.

The young man questioned whether this was a joke or not. You never knew with Crowley, that was the problem. He had been prone to pranking Gilan ever since he had earned his Silver Oakleaf. And the man had confirmed the fact that he had a weird sense of humour many times before. That's why Gilan didn't know whether he should regard the message as very important, or not important at all.

Now that he had been on his way for a few days, he realized that the commander actually needed his help and that the message was indeed very important. Crowley certainly did have a sense of humour, but he would never make one of his Rangers travel this far because of a bad joke. It just wasn't like him to do something like that. And yet...Gilan shook his head to clear his thoughts and rode along.

The more he rode, however, the bigger the amount of questions in his head became. Perhaps something terrible had happened? Perhaps his commander had been hurt? Perhaps someone had died!

It might have sounded as if he overreacted, but what if something bad did happen? His heart started to beat faster and faster by the minute, until he heard this...let's say...making-fun-of-him-breeze, coming from his Ranger horse, Blaze. The pony started to wildly throw his manes back and forth. _Don't you worry!_ It seemed to say. _He's messaged you so many times already! There's probably nothing wrong!_

Gilan nodded nervously. Blaze was right, he had come to Araluen a few times before in order to meet his commander. There probably wasn't anything bad going on! That same moment he realized that he had never had to come to the castle before because of one of Crowley's bad jokes.

Except for once. One time, Crowley had ordered him to visit the headquarters, just so that he could put him behind a desk. "Ah, Gilan!" he had said when the Ranger had entered his room that day. His eyes had had a sparkle in them – a sparkle of mischief.

"Thanks for visiting. Now, look over here, 'ey." He had pointed to a pile of documents, lying on the corner of his desk. "Check these documents to see if there are any important ones. I'm going downstairs to get myself a cup of coffee. Enjoy!"

Gilan had been...astonished. He could not believe that his commander had called him to the castle for something as silly as this!

And the worst was that Gilan was left in the office while his boss went to drink a cup of coffee. He had come all the way to find himself stuck in an office, with a pile of work that was supposed to be done by his boss (and who had decided to go for a cup of coffee instead).

Gilan sighed. What if Crowley was planning to set him up like that once more? What if this was not a mission? The Ranger shook his head. How could he know? He was a Royal Ranger, not some weird mind-reader of some kind.

Suddenly, he got distracted by a very unpleasant noise...and smell. It seemed that Blaze, who wasn't interested in his owner's problems at all, had farted, to show Gilan his irritation on the subject. The young Ranger angrily looked at his horse. "What now?" he asked.

 _You are such a fusspot. Calm down already about that mission!_ He seemed to say, but the Ranger shook his head stubbornly. "No way! I'm not a fusspot! I'm not worried, you hear? Not at all!" He crossed his arms like a little kid who had just been punished by his mother. Such a gesture might have worked with a normal human being, but not with a Ranger horse...or actually...not with any horses at all.

This made him feel even worse! It seemed like Blaze didn't give a damn about the problems of his owner, which was not a good characteristic for a horse that had served the man for over six years now. Gilan was happy he did not receive another reaction on his last say, so he smiled to himself, feeling that he had won the argument. It was only a few seconds later that Blaze stopped once more to turn his head in the direction of the smiling man. _You still are a fusspot. Don't deny it!_

Gilan's smile made place for an angry look. He pointed to the road in front of them and said: "Can we go now? I want to arrive before sunset, and you stopping on the road every five minutes is not going to help me get there in time. It's going to be your fault if I'm late. Again!" The horse shook his manes as a sign of protest. _That situation in Gallica was your own fault, not mine._ Gilan nodded in irritation. "Yes, yes. And we swore we would never speak of it again, okay? Never!"

The horse let out a little breeze. _Was it my fault that the messenger who was waiting for you called you a late-coming-bag-of-dirt? No! You were the one stopping for a Gallic bread on the way, because you were hungry!_ The Ranger felt kind of irritated right now, if that was the right word to describe it. He pointed at the road for a third time in the past ten minutes. "Just go already!"

 _ **Araluen, approximately three hours later...**_

Gilan's nervous face changed to cheerful when he climbed up a hill and was able to see the high towers of castle Araluen. He would finally find out what this important mission was all about. That was...if the mission was important at all. He ordered Blaze to walk down the hill, to the local village.

The village was cheerful and happy. It remembered the Ranger of the village near castle Redmont, Wensley, where he had spent around five or six years of his youth, under the protection and training of Halt, who had been the Ranger of Redmont at that time.

Gilan smiled at the citizens, who passed by and looked at him and his horse with big eyes. Then he rode up the hill, where the castle itself was situated. It was only when he looked up that he realised how impressive the castle really was. As the home of the Royal Family it had to have enough defences to keep bandits and robbers out. For as far as Gilan knew, no one had ever been able to take over the castle. No one with bad intentions, that was.

When he arrived at the gate, he was stopped by two guards, each holding a spear in their hand. Gilan, who was used to situations like this, pulled the silver oakleaf from around his neck and held it out in his hand. The guards, who knew of the symbol, stepped aside so that he could pass.

"Welcome to Araluen, Ranger!" the left man said as he stepped aside. Gilan nodded thankfully and rode along, to the courtyard, where he almost ran over a young groomsman. The young guy immediately started to make apologies. "Oh, I'm sorry, sir Ranger, sir! My boss told me to ask you whether you wanted to put your horse in the stable, sir!"

It took him a second to overthink the question and then nodded in agreement. "Sure!" He dismounted the horse and gave the reins to the young man, who was waiting next to him. The guy nodded with a kind smile. "And you," Gilan said to his horse in a private whisper. "Try to behave this time, okay?"

The horse snorted contemptuously and pushed him away with his nose. _You're the one to talk! Now go already!_ He turned his head to the groomsman, who hopelessly tried to take the horse with him to the stables.

He pulled on the reins, but the horse didn't bulge. Gilan was already standing at the door of the central keep when he gave the horse a sign. "It's alright, Blaze! Go with him!" he said afterwards. The groomsman swore that it had seemed as if the horse had nodded. He shook his head in disbelief and took the horse to the stables. Unbelievable, those Rangers.

When Gilan entered the keep, he immediately ran up the staircase, to the fourth floor, where he believed Crowley's office was located. He hoped he had remembered it well from the previous times he had been here. When he arrived he looked at the door.

There was a new nameplate on it, painted in silver. The same colour as the commander's Oakleaf. And... now that he looked at it closely, he noticed that there was indeed an oakleaf, carved into the metal next to the title. He read the title a few times. _Commander of the Royal Rangers_. Well...this is it, the Ranger thought.

He knocked on the door and waited for the familiar voice on the other side to reply. "Enter!" Gilan opened the door and entered the office. Crowley looked up from a pile of documents and maps. "Ah, Gilan, my boy! Good to see you! Now, I got an important task for you, so believe me when I say that I won't joke around this time!" The tone of his voice was friendly, but also a tad serious. It seemed that this new mission was important indeed. The older man pointed to one of the two chairs in front of his desk. Gilan sat down and gave his commander a quizzical look. "Is there something wrong?"

He sighed when the commander nodded. "Yes, something terrible is going on, Gilan." Crowley looked down at his fiddling hands – he couldn't keep them still – not when he was nervous or scared.

"Well, you see..." he started. The younger Ranger signed for him to continue. "Tell me, Crowley! Is it really something that terrible?" The commander with his red hair and red beard looked at Gilan for a good five seconds, before he dared to speak a few words. "It's about Halt and Will. They have gone missing."

Gilan jumped up, suddenly overwhelmed by a deep fear. "What happened then? Have they been kidnapped? Or worse...murdered?" His voice rose a tone or two as he spoke out the last words. Crowley raised an eyebrow and told him to sit down once more. Gilan nodded and did as he was said. "I just said they have disappeared. They haven't been murdered or kidnapped...or at least that's what I hope." The younger Ranger nodded, but couldn't restrain himself. He stood up once more and started to nervously pace around the office.

"So they have gone missing? Halt and Will? Where? When? How?!" His boss raised a hand to stop the stream of questions. For a third time in five minutes, he told Gilan to sit down. "Yes, they are missing. Yes, Halt and Will. And when, where and how? If we knew that they wouldn't have gone missing, would they?" The Ranger opposite of him nodded. "Right. Sorry."

"Now, as I have finally made you shut up, I would like to tell you about that mission of yours." Gilan looked up. "Does it have anything to do with the disappearance of Halt and Will?" Crowley nodded. "It does." The young Ranger was overwhelmed by feelings he could not even name. He just did not manage to remain seated...he couldn't stay calm. He looked down at his commander and said in a grave voice: "What's my task?" The old Ranger smiled when he heard that question. He took out a map and spread it out on the table. "It's very simple, even for you." He pointed at the map and said: "You're going after them. To Clonmel!"

Gilan felt how a wave of surprise hit him. "What were they doing in Clonmel, Hibernia?" He needed to know...after all it was important information for his investigation. If he ever wanted to find his friends in the overseas kingdom he would have to consider every piece of information he received.  
Crowley sighed and started his explanation. "They were off to Dun Kilty, to visit king Sean. You know...Halt's cousin and that sort of stuff. The thing is that they never arrived at the castle. So they never really accomplished their...Royal mission either."

He made some retch-sounding noises when pronouncing 'Royal mission'. The commander absolutely hated royal missions, even if they were inside his own country. Gilan smiled. "Yeah, you don't like those kinds of missions, or do you, Crowley?" You prefer to work behind your little desk!" He knocked three times on the desk right next to him.

Crowley looked at him with serious eyes and gave him a very simple answer. "I'm too old for that, so if I were you, I'd pack my things before the grey stripes start to appear in my hair, mister!" He pointed at the door, but Gilan wasn't ready to leave yet. He had one more question. "When do I leave?" Crowley raised his shoulders. "As soon as possible. Now go!"

 _ **Two days later...**_

After spending a lot of time on collecting the stuff he would need on his journey, Gilan was ready to go. He had a little list in his hand, which allowed him to check whether he had packed everything he needed. "Alright. Map? Check! Compass? Fine! Weapons...?" He brought a hand to his shoulder, where he could feel the cold wood of his longbow. "Check! And then...food..."

He looked in his backpack to see if he had enough supplies with him. In the end he concluded that he did. "Perfect!" He buttoned the bag with some kind of rope, raised it on his shoulders and walked out of the room he had been given. When he ran down the stairs, to the courtyard, he saw that Blaze was already waiting for him.

 _You finally arrived, fusspot?_ _Come on, we don't have all day!_ The Ranger smiled and showed him his bag. "Yeah, we're ready to go now. And by the way, stop calling me a fusspot, you pony." Blaze shook his manes again. _I call whatever I want!_ Gilan looked at his horse with a surprised look and realised that Ranger horses always had to have the last word in a conversation. _Right you are, fusspot!_ Annoyed by the brutality of his horse, Gilan decided to ignore the last comment.


	2. Chapter II: On the way

Gilan muttered as he glanced at the road in front him, trying to hide deeper inside his cloak. It was raining. Again. And it hadn't stopped since his departure from Araluen Castle, about three days ago. Even though he almost reached the Western coast of the country in that time, where he would be able to board a vessel and travel overseas to the kingdom of Hibernia, he wasn't happy. Not happy at all. The rain drops percolated the fabric of his cloak, make it both wet and heavy; and yet he hopelessly tried to retrieve some warmth from the woolen garment. And yet he failed.

Blaze, who didn't seem particularly interested in the current condition of his rider and just kept strolling over the muddy paths ahead, suddenly stopped and turned his head towards the Ranger. _Are you enjoying the weather yet, up there?_ He seemed to ask with a mean look in his eyes.

If looks could kill, Gilans horse would've dropped dead right this instant. Sadly, he refused. Causing Gilan to continue muttering and complaining. "I mean, fine! Rain can be useful, sure. For stuff like… Like… agriculture and such. But why does it always – and I mean it when I say 'always' – rain when we are on some kind of trip that'll take us longer than two weeks? It just makes no sense!" Blaze shook his manes, a gesture the Ranger compared with shrugging.

He soon realized he shouldn't anticipate much empathy from the animal – and certainly not in these bare conditions. And thus; being bored, wet and irritated by the fact that nobody cared, Gilan shook his head and dove back into his cloak.

He took a deep breath and recollected his thoughts and ideas about his current mission. He couldn't travel to Hibernia all alone, it wouldn't be safe. Or would it? Sure, he was a Royal Ranger with years of experience, but still... He could never be too careful. Maybe he should ask someone to come along? Someone he trusts, of course. And someone he knows has experience, who is able to take care of himself in any situation.

He thought about it for a mere minute, before the perfect candidate popped into his head. He was shocked he didn't think about the man sooner.

"Of course. How could I forget about good old Horace?! He's at Redmount right now, though. At least, that's what Crowley told me."

He glanced at his horse, who felt being watched – causing him to turn his head again. "You think you can make it to Redmount, buddy? It's only about two hours away. What do you say?" If horses could sigh, Blaze did just that. Gilan took it as a sign of both frustration and loyalty. The horse was trained to follow his commands, after all. Slowly, the horse's head went up and down, signifying a nod.

Gilan smiled and gestured the horse to turn, facing the South. "Alright, off to Redmount then!"

 _ **Redmount, approximately two hours later…**_

The young man seemed a lot more optimistic as he arrived at the gates of Redmount Castle. He even managed to keep the corners of his mouth uplifted as he was stopped in his tracks by a pair of guards. Both had already reached quite an age, grey hair peeking from beneath their metal helmets.

Oddly enough, it didn't take the two men long to figure out what and who he was, considering they almost immediately recognized the grey and green colored cloak on his back. Rangers were recognized all over the country. The oldest of the two guards quickly stepped aside and pointed at the donjon. "Better get inside quickly, Ranger! Before you catch the common cold!" he said with a

He looked up at the sky, where he could still clearly see the rain pouring down from the dark clouds. It's as if their deity was sending them another flood. Gilan nodded a thank you and lead his horse inside the castle's walls. First of all, he brought Blaze to the stables, where the animal would be safe from the pouring water. When he was finished, he nodded and overlooked his work with a satisfied look in his eyes. "You'll be alright, it seems. Now you stay here, you hear me?" He looked his horse in the eyes, to make sure the horse's attention was focused on him – and not on the bucket filled with oats in the corner of the box.

"I'll be right back, alright?" Gilan said to the animal. After having done that, he walked out of the stables, in the direction of the donjon. Without hesitation, the guard at _that_ door also opened it for the young man. Gilan nodded again and stepped inside, immediately scaling the stairs – all the way to the floor where baron Aralds office was located. He had little time. The longer he stayed here, the further away Halt and Will could be in Hibernia.

Not bothered with knocking on the door in order to see if the man was busy, Gilan stormed in without as much as a 'good morning'. Arald looked up from the paperwork chaos he was attempting to find order and structure in. He sat at his desk, a big wooden structure that filled an entire corner of his office, on it were all the documents he needed to overlook and judge.

Gilan immediately got to business. "Sir, I require urgent information. Oh, and Horace too now that I mention it. No time to explain." The baron – who was shocked by this random interruption – placed his feather aside and placed both his arms on his desk, both genuinely fascinated and annoyed by the unexpected visitor. "I guess 'good morning' to you too, Gilan." he said, still with the frown on his face.

Gilans mouth fell open in a small 'o' as he realized how he had just stormed in with so much brutality and haste. He apologized by giving the baron a small nod. "Pardon me, sir, but I have little time right now. My current assignment is very urgent."

Already knowing what assignment Gilan was talking about – since Halt and Will were the Rangers of Redmount, after all – he pointed at the seat in front of his desk. "Sit down, son. And tell me what information you require of me."

Gilan sighed, nodded and sat down on the chair. Taking a deep breath to clear his thoughts, he started off his row of questions. When the pair were last seen. When they had departed from the kingdom and certainly, how they did it!

Surely, they were in just as big of a haste as he was right now, right? Or maybe in an even bigger one. Maybe. The king of Clonmel was Halts nephew after all, wasn't he? So, it makes sense that the old man could've seen his mission as 'personal'.

"How they did they depart? Well that's a very good question, Gilan. One I luckily have an answer to." Gilan gestured the man to continue as he grew silent for a minute. "Halt told me, right before he and Will left, that he was going to find a boat in Shelley - a village at the west coast." Gilan nodded. Shelley, that was only a few miles further down the coast than the town where _he_ planned on getting a ride overseas. It all started to make sense in his head now. Shelley was the starting point of his entire investigation.

Knowing Halt, Gilan knew he wouldn't leave the village just because no one was willing nor able to give him a ride. In fact, had no fisherman been up to the task, he figured Halt himself would've 'confiscated' a vessel and used that – not caring about the risks he took while doing it."

His thoughts were interrupted by Arald, who apparently had asked something that he did not hear. He shook his head and looked at the baron. "I'm sorry, sir. Did you say something? I was lost in thought here." Arald nodded, he understood how anxiously the young man wanted to find his friends. Friends, he said? More like family, really. "I asked you what you needed Horace for? An old man like me could only assume you need him on your assignment too?"

Gilan nodded again. "I don't really think it's safe to travel overseas all alone. Therefore, I decided it's best to have some sort of back-up incase things get wrong." "And you immediately thought of Horace, didn't you?" the baron asked with a twinkle in his eyes. He had respect for Horace – ever since he became a real knight; and since he became such a close alliance to the Rangers; but especially since he became such good friends with Will, who had also been one of the orphans who lived in the castle's orphanage.

The young Ranger smiled as the baron asked that question. He shrugged. "When is it ever _not_ Horace? He's the best candidate for any job, as far as we know." Arald laughed and stood up from behind his desk. "Well, Horace is currently teaching some pupils at battleschool. I believe you will find him there! And good luck, to the both of you."

Gilan nodded one final time before turning around and walking over to the door. Right at the moment he had opened it, the baron said one final thing.

"Oh, and please find them, Gilan. Find them and bring them home." The Ranger turned his head at the baron and said: "Don't worry, sir. I'll certainly do my best." before exiting the room.

 _ **Redmount, battleschool…**_

"You want _me_ to come along with you to Hibernia? Are you serious on this one?!" asked Horace excited. It seemed like a great idea to him. Besides, he enjoyed spending time with the Rangers, their ideas, methods and tactics were always very interesting to witness. Once more, Gilan sighed and nodded slowly – to make sure the young knight could clearly see it. "Yes, for the last time, yes. I thought I'd mentioned that."

Horace shrugged, not letting go of the excited twinkle in his eyes. "I was just making sure. So, when are we planning on leaving?" Finally, progress. Gilan never thought it would take him this long to propose an idea to the young knight.

"As soon as your sword-wielding arse is ready! And for the love of God, I hope that's today. So, go pack your belongings!" Horace nodded and sprinted away into one of the barracks, only to exit the building ten minutes later – carrying a big leather backpack on his back. After that, he ran toward a man whom Gilan recognized as Sir Rodney, the Battlemaster of Redmount.

He couldn't hear anything from their conversation over the constant sound of swords and axes being chopped and stabbed into things, but he assumed Horace was telling the man about his departure.

Five minutes later, the young knight came back and looked at Gilan. "Alright, shall we? I've informed sir Rodney of our assignment and told him I would return to teach the pupils another day. He said it was no biggie." Gilan frowned at that last bit. "He literally said that? No biggie?" Horace shrugged. "I sure interpreted it that way. Now let's go!"


End file.
